Evolution and State Science is one of the most important fields of study in our society. People also make religion an important part of our lives. So who decides which one is really right when they contradict each other? In the State vs. John Scopes trial, or "The Monkey Trial", the state of Tennessee made their own laws based on the thoughts of the people with power. Tennessee had an anti-evolution statute, which made it against the law for any school to teach Darwin's theory of evolution. John Scopes was a simple teacher that believed in the study of science, and felt that evolution should be taught to children because schools should be obligated to give both sides of an argument, instead of teaching a one sided view that is thought of best by the state. The state of Tennessee was a majority of religious people who had much faith, but just like the theory of evolution, the theory of creation had no real solid evidence, which in essence makes both theories. The State vs. John Scopes trial was one that the Supreme Court got involved in and showed how the government of democracy cannot be reliable on decisions that are very controversial and unjust. The anti-evolution statute that the state of Tennessee had was truly unjust for many reasons. First, it violated John Scopes basic right of freedom of speech. It also forced students to learn about religion and pretty much made schools into propaganda for what the majority of the state wanted. This statute had students more associated with God and not on what truly was important, education. The object of school was to give students the best education that could be provided by the state, but because of the interests of the state, they students were getting cheated out...
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added: 08/24/2011
Running Head: BEHAVIORAL THEORY AND MYTHOLOGY Behavioral Theory and the Mythology that Surrounds Behaviorism Psychology 271, Fall 2003 - Burgess Jaclyn A. Shandy-Pinto California State University, Sacramento Behavior is a core part of our everyday experience. What we do and why we behave in specific ways has been a topic of debate for centuries. Over 3,000 years ago, the Greeks began to have philosophical discussions about our behavior, intelligence, emotions, thoughts and dreams. Early philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were among the first to question how we learn and what is knowledge, behavior and intelligence. It was around this time period that science and psychology (science of behavior) began to emerge. For many years, learning and behavior were attributed to "internal" causations. We behave in specific ways because we "want to" or because we "need to." It was thought that something inside of a person determined what that person did. It was not until the "theory of evolution" was formed that internal causations for behavior were questioned. Darwin suggested there was a continuity of species and humans and other organisms were part of an ongoing evolutionary process, subject to similar influences and principles such as natural selection and the survival of the fittest. This suggested that we were the same as other organisms and led to the research of animals, animal behavior and animal learning. If it is true that there is an internal cause to human behavior, than would it also be true that animals have "minds" since they display reflexes and had organs similar to the human? Watson was among the first to study this notion by looking at instincts and replacing "feelings" and "states of mind" with habits. He noted that behavior was the observed form of instincts and habits. Watson began an early movement in psychology that is referred...
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added: 09/19/2011
Why are we here? How are we here? What can account for the broad diversity of life we see around us every day? These are the questions man has been asking for thousands of years. It has only been recently, however, that science was sophisticated enough for us to be able to approach the real answer. Anyone can tell you that the currently accepted explanation is the Theory of Evolution. In the early to mid 1800s, the Theory of Evolution was being formed in the minds of many scientists, but it was first given voice by Charles Darwin in his Origin of Species. He proposed that a process called natural selection acts on random variation within a species to cause only the most fit of that species to survive and leave fertile offspring. Natural Selection is a process that ?chooses? specific individuals based on their characteristics, by allowing them to survive and multiply, whereas less suited individuals die out. Thus, over time, only those organisms most suited to their particular environment survive, and organisms become more and more specialized and sophisticated. Darwin?s theory was widely hailed at the time of its publication as being an excellent explanation for the diversity of living things on our planet, and as time has passed, it has only gained more acceptance. Generally, the only opposition to the theory came from religious circles, who insisted that the world was created in six days and all the animals and plants were created exactly as we see them. While many in the public clung to their beliefs, this obviously did not have much support from the scientific community. After all, there is very little evidence for such a creation, and there is plentiful evidence for evolution. However, in more recent times, other, more legitimate challenges to the Theory of...
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added: 07/23/2011
It was aural sensory overload as I collapsed on the floor of my best friend's living room. My eyes were completely useless in the pitch black of the room, but my ears were alert. I could imagine the sound swirling around my head. It was beautiful; like sirens calling to a restless voyager. I had found the music that I had unknowingly been searching for. I had landed on its shores and planted my flag. The sound I was hearing was exciting me to the point that sleep was impossible. It was the first time I had experienced the music of 311, and it was a sleep over that I would never forget.
There are very few bands that have survived the eclectic and turbulent music scene of the nineties. 311 just so happens to be one of those bands. They are survivors. 311 is an amazing band for the following reasons, their longevity, their positive message and their amazing live show. They have worked for every success they have achieved, receiving little love from the media and radio alike. They have acquired a huge underground following, sold millions of albums, and have toured all over the world, often selling out many of the venues they play. 311 have acquired the success that every underground musician or band dreams of, and they did it their way, without compromising their values or their music.
They are a band for the ages, but their drive remains ageless. 311 is unique for their longevity. They have been together for the past twelve years, and that is highly unusual in a world of passing fads and one-hit wonders. 311 formed in 1991 when self-proclaimed "best friends for life" Nick Hexum, Tim Mahoney, Chad Sexton, Doug Martinez (a.k.a. S.A.) and Aaron Wills (a.k.a. P-Nut), decided that they...
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added: 09/06/2011
The inventive world of Wonderland and Alice's journey in to her own imagination is more then merely a children's story. Looking deep at the symbols and structure of the story one can see that it becomes more complex and abstract as Alice gets deeper and deeper in her journey in Wonderland. Lewis Carol wrote the book in 1876 and Disney produced its own animated version of Alice in Wonderland no more then twenty years ago. The Disney production aimed at a younger audience, shows Wonderland as a very colourful and vibrant place, full of flowers, trees and a majestic garden of wonder and glory. Although Disney is successful at doing that, it fails in showing the hidden aspects of the story, the aspects of the novel that need to be dug into to comprehend. This is most likely because it was aimed a younger audience.
The symbolism that is used helps to create a deeper understanding of the true meaning of the story. When just watching or reading the story one may think that from the looks of it, the story about Alice falling through a rabbit-hole and finding herself in a silly and nonsense world, is fairly guileless as a tale. The underlying story, the one about a girl maturing away from home in what seems to be a world ruled by chaos and nonsense, is quite a frightening one. All the time, Alice finds herself confronted in different situations involving various different and curious animals being all alone. She hasn't got any help at all from home or the world outside of Wonderland. This represents a theme of abandonment.
The main theme of the story is Alice's identity crisis and her journey to find her identity. This young girl's journey is symbolic of universal growth and self-discovery. As Alice learns...
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added: 10/10/2011
In every part of our body there reigns a tiny yet complex life. An examination under the microscope into the depths of any human organ brings us face to face with an astounding miracle of creation: millions of tiny living things that have come together to make up that organ are engaged in arduous activity. These tiny beings are cells, the basic units of life. Not only man but also all other living things are composed of these microscopic living beings.
There are about 100 trillion cells in the human body. Some of these cells are so tiny that even 1 million of them together hardly cover a space as large as the pointed end of a pin. Despite this, however, the cell is by far the most complex structure mankind has ever encountered, as is also agreed by the scientific community. Containing many secrets hitherto undiscovered, the cell of a living thing also constitutes the greatest impasse for the theory of evolution. That is because the cell is one of the most striking pieces of evidence that human beings and all other living beings are not the products of coincidences, but are created by a Creator.
In order for the cell to survive, all the basic components of the cell, each performing many vital functions, have to be intact. If the cell came into existence by evolution, then millions of its components had to simultaneously exist in the same place and they had to come together in a particular order and plan. Since this is utterly implausible, such a structure has no explanation other than "creation." One of the leading evolutionists, Alexander Oparin, expressed the deadlock the theory of evolution encountered in this way:
"Unfortunately, the origin of the cell remains a question which is actually the darkest point of the complete...
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added: 10/13/2011
The theory of Evolution says that at the very beginning of life were plankton. Those plankton evolved and became more and more complex organisms. Depending on their environment and choices, the organisms that were created were different in their (physical) appearance and behavior. Now, the Earth has a very diversified fauna and flora living in their respective biosphere. All the living species are classified according to their physical traits and behavior. However, one specie present differences among their group: the Human Being. In fact, Humans are easily recognizable at least physically, but since they have something more that makes them more complex to study- the ability to think- they present difficulties to be assimilated as a homogeneous group. Since each human being has a unique character, do not expect them to behave the same way in front of a same situation. Therefore, a deep study into the causes that may influence their choice must be much more interesting and helpful in order to understand that behavioral difference. Then, the right question one must ask is: What makes people behave differently? To find answers to this dilemma, in this essay will be analyzed successively three important reasons or factors that may lead people to behave in a way or another: the influence of the environment, of the people around and of the experience.
First, the most common source of learning for an individual is his immediate and natural environment. By that is meant his culture, his religion or civilization. It is well known that people of the same culture share many things in common such as lifestyle and general behavior. You are more likely to find people doing similar things in a same area or culture. The way people behave in Africa will not be the same as for the ones in...
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added: 10/16/2011
Charles Darwin proposed the theory of evolution to explain the origin, diversity and complexity of life. I will will disprove evolution by showing that natural selection only explains small evolutionary changes, collectively known as microevolution. Natural selection cannot drive large evolutionary changes, macroevolution. I will also show that the primordial soup, in which life supposedly evolved, did not exist.
Neo-Darwinism incorporates the discoveries of modern science into Darwin's original theory while leaving the basic beliefs intact. Darwin proposed that individuals with favorable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce. Darwin called this process natural selection. Darwin did not understand how or why variation existed. Today scientists realize that variation arises through random changes (called mutations) to existing genes. Genes are the chemicals that determine the traits and characteristics of animals and plants. Every trait has one or more gene associated with it. Thus, natural selection provides the animals and plants with the best genes. Supporters of neo-Darwinism believe that natural selection operating upon random variation gave rise rise to all animals and plants. While the source of variation is random, the direction of evolution is not. In effect, natural selection removes chance, and it makes the theory of evolution plausible. If neo-Darwinism is correct then numerous small successive changes guided by natural selection gave rise to all animals and plants.
I will prove that natural selection is not a creative process. Its primary function is to preserve the status quo. Thus, new structures and organs must arise through chance. Natural selection can only preserve and optimize these new structures and organs after they evolve through chance. In other words, natural selection does not drive evolution, and the hypothesis on which neo-Darwinism is based is flawed.
Natural selection drives microevolution. Microevolution is defined as evolution involving small changes. Microevolution does not require the...
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added: 10/17/2011
It is interesting to note how "Creation Science" is being propagated as a "Science" (as what we have so far understood "Science" to mean) and how it attempts to establish itself by debunking Evolution. Creation Scientists , are actually science professionals with accredited Science degrees, but who claim that all Creation of matter is by an act of a Creator and that : - All basic plants and animal types were created in their completeness from scratch , meaning the theory of life evolving from inanimate matter is false. Man did not descend from apes and natural selection (the evolution mechanism, along with mutations is false). The problem is not if Darwin's theory of evolution is scientific in nature or that it can debunk "Creation Science" or the "Creation Science" can disprove evolution, but that I believe Creationists practice no Science at all. Creationists adhere to what they define to be a "scientific method" by which they draw conclusions. Upon examination, this proves to be a form of naïve inductivism, meaning observation preceding hypothesis and theory. But Popper says agreement with known data is insufficient to make a theory scientific and advocates falsifiabilty (testability), and not verifiability (confirmability) as the demarcation criterion for distinguishing Science from Pseudoscience. Instead of establishing the basis for their "Science", Creationists attempt to debunk and replace the theory of evolution with their own. The bizarre fact is that, in spite the claimed adherence to a "scientific method", in the whole body of creation-science literature, there is a virtual absence of ANY experimental or observational work by creationists. Creationists, work exclusively with the claims of evolutionists, twisting arguments to their own ends. Arguments proceed by showing evolution as wrong, rather than Creationists as right. A clear example is the case of the "missing link" between man and apes. Creationists state that there are no...
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added: 10/26/2011
IB Theory of Knowledge Essay: On What Basis Is It Possible to Justify a Hierarchy of Disciplines? Human beings constantly create hierarchies by arranging all things known to them in order of rank. Hierarchies are abound in man's life: our laws, for example, have differing degrees of punishment depending on the severity of the crime. Yet, the ultimate question becomes whether human beings would be justified in creating a hierarchy for the different disciplines of knowledge. If the presence of a clearly observable universal principle governing the discipline is used as a ranking criterion, then the creation of a hierarchy of disciplines is justified. In order to assess the validity of this premise it is necessary to understand exactly what the disciplines are and how they will be classified. By definition, a discipline is a branch of knowledge; consequently, a dissection of knowledge yields eight different disciplines: mathematics, logic, language, natural science, social science, history, moral judgment, and aesthetics. The disciplines will be ranked on the basis of how far the knowledge they contain can be classified under a clearly observable universal principle. Language occupies the very top of the hierarchy. Defined simply as a means of communication, language is as old as humanity itself. In every human culture men have found some means of communicating thoughts and ideas to each other, thereby making language universal. Of course, there are many who would call such a proposition ludicrous. All one has to do is look around to see how much trouble humans have when it comes to bridging the gap created by different languages. Language is not universal simply because people who speak different languages can not communicate with each other. Yet, this view is incorrect because it fails to acknowledge the essential nature of language, which includes assigning symbols and sounds to specific...
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added: 10/28/2011